2019

These guys are slowing me down

 and I love it! 

Today we went to the the Cruz de Ferro, which is actually quite a small cross atop a very large pole, but surrounded by the countless thousands of rocks and stones that have been placed by pilgrims over the years. It had an eerie, sacred, almost Anzac Day- like solemnity as people approached, placed their stones, some stood and touched the monument, and then returned. One woman was praying in tears. 

Every stone is a hope, a dream, a prayer, a decision, a loss, a memory that someone has placed there. 

Before I left for Spain I had an hour long, fantastic confession with a wise old priest whom I trust. I had three things to confesss. Not three individual sins, but three patterns of sin I recognise over the course of my priesthood which I want to repent of. 

I placed three small stones which represent those three areas of repentance on the pile. 

But my growing little group of friends are 

slowing me down, because we are taking time to stop and enjoy coffees and lunches and views along the way, something which I was doing in the first couple of weeks, but not so much in the third week when I walked alone along the meseta. 

Josh and Tim and Ophelie have now been joined by English Harvard student Raf, US doctor-to-be Chelsea and Italian fashion student Diego, and last night by Korean personal trainer Changmin and today by Italian business consultant Marco. 

Despite being old enough to be everyone's dad, somehow I just click with this group, and they elicit a playfulness in me that I don't always let out. We've been on the look out for another river to swim in and found it tonight in Moliniseca, despite the it being a drizzly afternoon. 

As I think back to 2019, one of the highlights was the strong connection with Mercy College and St Pius X College which are both onsite. This created such opportunities both for fanastic school Masses in our church - I have never heard a school sing like the St Pius boys belting out Ancient Words and their school song - and for me to get involved in their school retreats and programs (and I had been involved in St Pius' retreats on and off for many years). 

I took the opportunity to work with the school youth ministers Adrian and Gabby to do a one day formation retreat to train 20 Year 10 students to be Special Ministers of Communion. This was by invitation only, to those students who had a genuine faith, to spend a day reflecting on the Eucharist and then be commissioned as minsters both for their own school Masses, and for a combined Sunday night youth Mass which we had in the parish each month. Very few of our own parishioners attended these schools, but students, supported by their teachers came from all around to create a vibrant youth Mass in which the students took the lead in all the ministries. This was the model I hoped we'd use at Carlingford in recent years, but we couldn't harness the local schools, making me realise what an extraordinary connection this was at the time. 

Working with these 20 fantastic young people then created an inroad to work with the whol year group for their Year 11 retreats, their Year 12 retreats, and their Year 12 graduations. A standout was Cailin who altar served every Tuesday morning Mass, then got involved in Chatswood Parish on Sunday nights and later ended up working in youth ministry for our diocese. 

Another 2019 highlight was having a seminarian, Sam French come and do his pastoral placement with his. I had such a positive and affirming experience of my pastoral placement at Epping so many years ago that I wanted to create the same experience for Sam. I wanted to give him ministries to do which he would already do well in, opportunities to come with me for hospital visits and other one on one pastoral care, and to give him a project which would stretch and challenge him. Sam was a very capable guy (and now priest) so the limits took awhile to reach, but he did work through challenges well. I asked him to mobilise and organise a group of young adults to do to the Australian Catholic Youth Festival, something which I love (much more than World Youth Day) but I stepped back so that Sam could take the lead, which he did admirably. 

I think it was also in 2019 that I introduced one night a week in the church of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and reconciliation being available. I find the experience of Reconciliation so powerful (see above) that I want to make it available for more people. Many Catholics never go, and some Catholics go far too often. I invite people to come at least once a year, and to use their birthday (rather than joining the crowds at Easter and Christmas) as the time to go, so that we can ask ourselves "How have I been this past year? and who do I want to be in the year ahead?". 

I think I spent 4 or 5 weeks in the confessional with nobody coming, but when someone did come, they needed that full hour for themselves to delve deeply and experience God's mercy lavishly. Little by little, more and more people would come, not many, but one, two, three a night, and it was good to be able to always give them the time they deserved.  

The picutre below is from a praise and worship night we hosted in the parish.